Top hospital administrators have a disconnect with identifying more digital healthcare delivery as a strategic priority but not having the resources to implement it, says a new survey from the American Hospital Association.
The survey of 317 hospital executives, including 44 CEOs, finds that 75% of hospitals believe digital “innovation” is important “because it has strong ties to long term strategy and competitive differentiation.” But more than 50% of survey respondents also say they are holding off on putting in place many digital healthcare initiatives due to a lack of time and money and “fear” of creating unintended operational burdens.
“Significant barriers to innovation remain,” the association says. Three out of four survey respondents say they believe that digital innovation must include partnering with other organizations.
The survey results also indicate areas of importance where hospitals have already invested in digital healthcare, including benefits management, operational efficiency and primary care delivery. Priorities for future investment according to the survey, are patient-generated data and customized services; network utilization and management; and referral management and in-network retention, the survey says.
Digital healthcare as a priority is certainly high on the strategic wish list of many top administrators, with 93% and 85%, respectively, of hospital executives noting that they understand the value of digital innovation and tying digital healthcare innovation to their hospital’s long term strategy. 76% of administrators also say digital innovation is “essential to meeting long term goals and metrics.”
“It’s clear that hospitals recognize and embrace the importance of digital innovation,” says American Hospital Association executive vice president and chief operating officer Maryjane Wurth.
But hospital administrators also cite multiple reasons why they aren’t moving to implement digital healthcare delivery faster. They include:
- 60% of respondents say they have not seen a large enough return on their investment in digital healthcare so far to warrant faster expansion.
- 52% of administrators say they are holding back on digital healthcare due to a lack of money.
- 37% of executives are holding off because of “regulatory” uncertainty.
“Hospitals and health systems cite insufficient staffing and resources as a high barrier,” the report says. “A lack of dedicated resources, authority and budget can impede collaboration and restrict acceleration.”
Although the association did not break out specific names, there are some hospitals that are taking steps to fast track digital healthcare initiatives and launch in one year rather than 24 months. Those steps include having a dedicated pool of funding for digital healthcare, creating sources of funding outside of the regular budget cycle and reserving a portion of departmental budgets for digital healthcare implementation.
“We now know that top performers share traits that allow them to accelerate innovation 52% faster than average organizations, shortening time to impact by a full year,” says Eric Langshur, CEO of Avia, a Chicago organization made up of more than 20 healthcare systems looking to achieve better patient care and financial results through new technologies such as digital healthcare. Avia worked with the American Hospital Association to conduct the survey.
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